How do participants feel at the retro: Explorer, Shopper, Vacationer, or Prisoner?Source: Agile Retrospectives

Prepare a flipchart with areas for E, S, V, and P. Explain the concept:

Explorer: Eager to dive in and research what did and didn't work and how to improve.

Shopper: Positive attitude. Happy if one good things comes out.

Vacationer: Reluctant to actively take part but the retro beats the regular work.

Prisoner: Only attend because they (feel they) must.

Take a poll (anonymously on slips of paper). Count out the answers and keep track on the flipchart for all to see. If trust is low, deliberately destroy the votes afterwards to ensure privacy. Ask what people make of the data. If there's a majority of Vacationers or Prisoners consider using the retro to discuss this finding.

Draw a speedboat onto a flip chart paper. Give it a strong motor as well as a heavy anchor. Team members silently write on sticky notes what propelled the team forward and what kept it in place. One idea per note. Post the stickies motor and anchor respectively. Read out each one and discuss how you can increase 'motors' and cut 'anchors'.

Variation: Some people add an iceberg in the back of the image. The iceberg represents obstacles they already see coming.

Find the source of problems whose origins are hard to pinpoint and lead to endless discussionSource: Henrik Kniberg

Write the problem you want to explore on a sticky note and put it in the middle of a whiteboard. Find out why that is a problem by repeatedly asking 'So what?'. Find out the root causes by repeatedly asking 'Why (does this happen)?' Document your findings by writing more stickies and showing causal relations with arrows. Each sticky can have more than one reason and more than one consequence Vicious circles are usually good starting points for actions. If you can break their bad influence, you can gain a lot.

Get a sense of everyone's position and reach consensusSource: Nick Oostvogels

When the team can't decide between two options, create a big scale (i.e. a long line) on the floor with masking tape. Mark one end as option A) and the other as option B). Team members position themselves on the scale according to their preference for either option. Now tweak the options until one option has a clear majority.

Gauge participants' satisfaction with the retro on a scale from 1 to 5 in minimum timeSource: ALE 2011, Corinna Baldauf

Put sticky notes on the door with the numbers 1 through 5 on them. 1 is the topmost and best, 5 the lowest and worst.When ending the retrospective, ask your participants to put a sticky to the number they feel reflects the session. The sticky can be empty or have a comment or suggestion on it.